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Jonathan Nettler's blog

We're looking forward to another stimulating year of news, commentary, and professional development. But before the calendar turns to 2014, we wanted to take a look back at our most popular blog posts, exclusive articles, and news items from 2013.

Buried beneath the enthusiasm that’s accompanied the unveiling of Peter Zumthor’s design for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is one important criteria by which the project should be evaluated: how does it contribute to the urban environment?

This year's host for the APA National Conference, themed "Plan Big," is the city that virtually invented modern big picture planning. But what does Chicago's seeming inability to plan comprehensively say about the state of contemporary planning?

Editor's Note: A recent Planetizen blog post by the University of South Florida’s Steven Polzin voiced several criticisms about the Housing + Transportation (H+T®) Affordability Index, created by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT). We have provided a venue for Scott Bernstein, founder and president of CNT, to respond below.

As the APA national conference draws to a close after four days of connecting, collaborating, and conversing, another c-word has been running through my head -- change. Of course, introducing and disseminating change is the currency of such conferences, where sessions are intended to facilitate professional development and transition by introducing attendees to the progressive practices and policies being spearheaded across the professional world. I mean, why else would we attend such events? Surely not only for the raucous opening night party, right? Right??

However, it seems there was more than the usual dose of change in the air during this year's proceedings.